Duquesne Incline

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The Duquesne Incline (Template:IPAc-en Script error: No such module "Respell".) is a funicular scaling Mount Washington near the South Side neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.

The lower station is in the Second Empire style. Together with the incline, which rises Script error: No such module "convert". in height, at a 30-degree angle, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. The incline is unusual for using a Script error: No such module "Track gauge".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". track gauge, mainly used in Finland, Russia, and Mongolia.

Together with the Monongahela Incline, it is one of two passenger inclines still in operation on Pittsburgh's South Side. By 1977, the two had become tourist attractions and together served more than one million commuters and tourists annually.[1] That year both inclines were designated as Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

The incline is owned by Pittsburgh Regional Transit, and operated by the nonprofit Society for the Preservation of The Duquesne Heights Incline.[2] Fares for the incline are standard Pittsburgh Regional Transit fares.[3]

History

Originally steam powered, the Duquesne Incline was designed by Samuel Diescher, a Hungarian-American civil engineer based in Pittsburgh, and completed in 1877. The incline is Script error: No such module "convert". long, Script error: No such module "convert". in height, and is inclined at a 30-degree angle. Its track gauge is Script error: No such module "Track gauge".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., which is unusual in the United States (but standard in Finland, Russia, and Mongolia[4]).

Diescher is known for having designed the majority of inclines in the United States, including several in Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania, in addition to numerous other industrial and highway projects.

The incline was intended to carry cargo up and down Mt. Washington in the late 19th century. It later carried passengers, particularly Mt. Washington residents who were tired of walking up the steep footpaths to the top of the bluff. Inclines were being built all over Mt. Washington to serve working-class people who were forced out of the lowlying riverfront by industrial development.

But as more roads were built in the twentieth century on "Coal Hill", as it was known, and automobile use increased, most of the other inclines were closed. By the end of the 1960s, only the Monongahela Incline and the Duquesne Incline remained in operation.

In 1962, the Duquesne Incline was closed, apparently for good. Major repairs were needed, and with so few patrons, the incline's private owners did little. But local Duquesne Heights residents launched a fund-raiser to help restore the incline. It was a huge success, and on July 1, 1963, the incline reopened under the auspices of a non-profit organization dedicated to its preservation.

The incline has since been totally refurbished. The cars, built by the J. G. Brill and Company of Philadelphia, have been stripped of paint to reveal the original wood. An observation deck was added at the top affording a view of Pittsburgh's "Golden Triangle". The Duquesne Incline is now one of the city's most popular tourist attractions. In 1975 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. By 1977 the two remaining passenger inclines served more than one million commuters and tourists annually. That year both inclines were designated as Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks[1] by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).[5]

Specifications

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  • Grade: 30 degrees
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  • Passenger Capacity: 18 to 25 (one compartment)
  • Opened: May 20, 1877
  • Renovated: 1888 (with steel structure)
  • Rebuilt: Original steam power replaced with electricity: 1935
  • Renovated: Historic cars restored in 1970s[5]

In popular culture

Gallery

See also

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References

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External links

Template:Sister project

Template:Port Authority of Allegheny County Template:PittsburghTransit Template:National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania

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